EAGER: Linking functional traits to coexistence mechanisms in a novel assemblage

EAGER：将功能特征与新型组合中的共存机制联系起来

• 批准号: 1939304
• 负责人: Amber Wright
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Hawaii
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1939304&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Linking; functional; traits; coexistence

One of the biggest questions that ecology asks is, how can so many different kinds of species coexist? Species interact with each other in many different ways. Some species compete for resources like food or places to live, some eat or parasitize others, some need other species in order to survive. Given all of these relationships, how do we explain, or even better predict, which species will be able to live with each other long-term (i.e. stably coexist)? This question is particularly important today, as global changes are altering which species are encountering each other. Ecologists have devised several theories to address the question of how species coexist. For example, species that compete for food may coexist by eating different types of food when they co-occur. Or, species may be better at acquiring food in different types of environments, and so may coexist by using different microhabitats. If species differ in traits that allow them to use resources or habitats in different ways, then trait differences can be used to predict if and how species can coexist. Whether trait variation predicts coexistence in consistent ways across all types of communities is a potentially powerful hypothesis that if true would allow researchers to predict how communities will change over time in response to environmental change. In principle, this hypothesis should apply across the tree of life. However, key aspects of the underlying theory have only been tested in a handful of study systems, mainly plants and microorganisms. As a result, the generality of these ideas and therefore their full impact remains untested in animal communities. This research will integrate morphology and ecology to test whether these ideas can apply to a lizard community. This research will contribute to broadening participation in science by providing research training to undergraduate students from the University of Hawaii, one of the most diverse college campuses in the country. The research strategy is to 1) measure traits, 2) generate predictions for experimental outcomes based on trait differences and hypothesized coexistence mechanisms, and 3) test predictions using a mesocosm experiment. The study species are two anoles (Anolis carolinensis, A. sagrei), and a day gecko (Phelsuma laticauda), all of which are non-native to Hawaii. Lizards will be introduced to experimental enclosures with two different habitat treatments. The degree to which prey are differentially depleted by each species will be measured in the two habitats as a proxy for R*, which is the minimum resource level that can support a population. This will allow for determination of the importance of resource partitioning vs. spatial heterogeneity in competitive ability. Monitoring of mortality due to predation in the different habitat types will indicate the potential role for spatial heterogeneity in predator susceptibility in driving coexistence. By distinguishing among these mechanisms and connecting them to traits this research will generate and test predictions regarding the outcome of species interactions in arboreal lizard communities specifically, and more generally provide a case study to guide future work testing coexistence theory in macrofauna.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

生态学提出的最大问题之一是，这么多不同种类的物种是如何共存的？物种以许多不同的方式相互作用。有些物种会竞争食物或居住地等资源，有些会吃掉或寄生于其他物种，有些则需要其他物种才能生存。考虑到所有这些关系，我们如何解释，甚至更好地预测，哪些物种能够长期共存（即稳定共存）？这个问题在今天显得尤为重要，因为全球变化正在改变哪些物种会相遇。生态学家设计了几种理论来解决物种如何共存的问题。例如，竞争食物的物种可能会共存，当它们共存时，它们会吃不同类型的食物。或者，物种可能更善于在不同类型的环境中获取食物，因此可以通过使用不同的微栖息地来共存。如果物种的特征不同，使得它们能够以不同的方式利用资源或栖息地，那么特征差异就可以用来预测物种是否以及如何共存。性状变异是否预示着所有类型的群落以一致的方式共存，这是一个潜在的强大假设，如果这是真的，将使研究人员能够预测群落如何随着时间的推移而变化，以应对环境变化。原则上，这一假设适用于整个生命之树。然而，基本理论的关键方面只在少数研究系统中得到了测试，主要是植物和微生物。因此，这些观点的普遍性及其全面影响在动物群体中仍未得到检验。这项研究将结合形态学和生态学来测试这些想法是否适用于蜥蜴群落。这项研究将为夏威夷大学的本科生提供研究培训，从而有助于扩大科学参与。夏威夷大学是美国最多元化的大学校园之一。研究策略是：1)测量性状；2)基于性状差异和假设共存机制对实验结果进行预测；3)使用中观实验对预测结果进行检验。研究的物种是两种蜥蜥（Anolis carolinensis, a . sagrei）和一种日壁虎（Phelsuma laticauda），它们都是非夏威夷本土的。蜥蜴将被引入两种不同的栖息地处理的实验围栏。将在两个栖息地测量每个物种的猎物被不同地消耗的程度，作为R*的代表，R*是可以支持一个种群的最低资源水平。这将有助于确定资源划分与空间异质性在竞争能力中的重要性。对不同生境类型的捕食死亡率进行监测将揭示捕食者易感性的空间异质性在促进共存中的潜在作用。通过区分这些机制并将它们与特征联系起来，本研究将产生和测试关于树栖蜥蜴群落物种相互作用结果的预测，并为指导未来在大型动物中验证共存理论的工作提供更广泛的案例研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。